Latticed produce wrapper

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to an improved latticed produce wrapper of the disposable sheet plastic type characterized by a series of alternately staggered parallel rows of integrally formed loops defined by pairs of transversely spaces slits with those in the center of the pattern extending all the way to the opposite edges.

United States Patent 1 1 1 3,762,629

Bruno 1 Oct. 2, 1973 I 1 LA'lTlCEl) PRODUCE WRAPPER 3,067,039 13/1922 Crane 229/87 F 3,069,067 1 /l9 2 Crane..... 229/87 F [75! Inventor: Edward L. Bruno, Denver, Colo. 3,109,579 H963 Crane A I H 229/87 F 1731 Assignee: Mario Manetti, Chicago, 111.

[22] Filed: July 27, 1971 3,603,369 9/1971 Scholz 229/DlG 3 21 A 1. N 166,363 1 pp Primary Examiner-George F. Lesmes Assistant Examiner-Charles E Lipsey U-S- s F, R, LP, Altorney spangler wymore & Klaas 161/109, 161/130, 161/149, l61/DlG. 6, 206/46 F 229/D1G. 3

[57] ABSTRACT [51] Int. Cl 865d 65/00 5 Fie|d f Search 1 1 109 149 mg 6, This invention relates to an improved latticed produce 1 130 133 9 10; 229 7 R, 7 F, G 3; wrapper of the disposable sheet plastic type character- 99 171 LP, 17 20 4 1:; 52 R ized by a series of alternately staggered parallel rows of integrally formed loops defined by pairs of transversely 5 R f n Cit d spaces slits with those in the center of the pattern ex- UNITED STATES PATENTS tending all the way to the opposite edges.

3,040,968 6/1962 Long et a1 l61/DIG. 6 9 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures Z W ,zz/Y b i 2'25 3 1 a, 5 I 11 1 11 A? PATENTEU 2'57?I 3. 762.629

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INVENTOR EDWAlgP C. BRUNO PATENTED 2 I975 SHEET 2 BF 2 IN'VENTOR EDWARD C. BRUNO FIG. 6.

LATTICED PRODUCE WRAPPER For many years now it has become common practice to wrap certain types of produce, particularly heads of lettuce, in clear transparent plastic wrappers having a latticework configuration. These wrappers are usually square with the lattices defined by alternate staggered rows of parallel slits extending diagonally thereof so as to leave an uninterrupted margin bordering the pattern which is thus confined within the interior of the sheet. The diagonal corners of the sheet on opposite sides of the pattern, i.e., normal to the direction of the slits, are pulled apart and passed around and underneath before being tied which results in the slits opening up and the surface of the wrapper assuming a slightly wrinkled appearance. Unfortunately, the resulting package has neither the look or the feel" that the customer has come to expect in a fresh firm head of lettuce.

First of all, the prior art wrapper described above provides the lettuce with a soft cushiony feel which, in the minds of the public, is inconsistent with freshness and is associated with the limp texture of an overripe head or one fast approaching a spoiled condition. Lettuce thus packaged oftentimes does not sell and this, of course, is contrary to one of the prime objectives of any wrapper, namely, to promote sales of the merchandise contained therein.

Fresh fruits and vegetables are customarily displayed on inclined racks or beds which may or may not be refrigerated but which almost universally include overhead spray nozzles that continuously cover the produce with atomized droplets of water that glisten in the light and thus enhance its appearance of freshness. The public has thus become accustomed to expecting a head of lettuce and other fresh produce to sparkle exhibiting many highlights under relatively intense artifical illumination and any wrapper package or covering that detracts from this impression is less than satisfactory from a sales. standpoint. Unfortunately, the prior art polyethylene wrappers for produce do, in fact, materially lessen this fresh glistening appearance while substituting therefor a dull, lackluster covering that masks the true character of the product therebeneath.

It has now been found in accordance with the teaching of the instant invention that these and other shortcomings of the prior art polyethylene produce wrappers can, in large measure, be eliminated by the simple, but unobvious, expedient of using a series of pairs of slits as a means of freeing alternate staggered rows of integrallyformed loops which will pop up from the surface when the sheet in which the slits are made is stretched in a direction normal to the latter. Each pair of slits must be essentially the same length and arranged in side-by-side relation although they neednt, necessarily, be parallel although there is no particular reason fortheir being otherwise. Also, the pattern of slits is such that a marginal area is provided only at the sides thereof while those at the ends extend all the way to the edges of the sheet and thus continue to provide a loop-forming surface even where the four corners are brought together and the uncut stretched corners are tied. If, as in the prior art latticed wrappers, an uninterrupted margin is provided bordering the slit pattern on all sides, the loops at the ends of the pattern will not rise appreciably out of the plane of the sheet due to the restrictions on the degree of stretch occasioned by such border;

Accordingly, it is the principle object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved latticed produce wrapper.

A second objective is the provision of an article of the type aforementioned that provides a more pleasing visual impression than those clear transparent polyethylene wrappers of the prior art.

Another object is to provide a wrapper for head let tuce and the like that produces a crisp fresh feel not un like that of the product itself.

An additional objective of the within described invention is to provide a latticed sheet wrapper characterized by staggered parallel rows of upstanding integral loops when stretched to envelop a generally spherical object.

Further objects of the invention herein disclosed and claimed are to provide a produce wrapper particularly well suited for use on head lettuce, cabbage and the like that is inexpensive, versatile, easy to use, disposable, non-toxic, safe, relatively rugged and quite decorative.

Other objects will be in part apparent and in part pointed out specifically hereinafter in connection with the description of the drawings that follows, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the improved produce wrapper in its entirety;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary detail of one corner of the sheet showing one end of the slit pattern;

FIG. 3 is a further enlarged fragmentary plan view showing the lattice pattern as it appears when the sheet is stretched by exerting a pull thereon in a direction to open the slits;

FIG. 4 is a transverse section taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal section taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the underside of a head of lettuce or the like as it would appear wrapped in the wrapper of the present invention.

Referring next to the drawings for a detailed description of the present invention and, initially, to FIG. 1 for this purpose, reference numeral I has been chosen to represent the wrapper in its entirety while numeral 12 has been selected to similarly represent the slit pattern contained within its borders. Each pair of loop-defining slits has been given numeral 14 while the loop freed thereby has been designated by numeral 16.

Looking at the slit pattern as it appears in FIG. 1, it will be seen to be more or less diamond-shaped and, for purposes of the instant description, its ends 18 will be considered to be those aligned with the slits while its sides 20 will be normal thereto. In the preferred form of the invention illustrated, the clear transparent poly ethylene sheet from which the wrapper 10 is formed is square and the slit pattern 12 is so located thereon that the slits extend diagonally thereacross in parallel rows 22. The rows 22m at the center of the pattern extend all the way through to the edge 24 of the sheet emerging at the opposite corners 26 in longitudinal alignment with the slits; whereas, the remaining rows 22s at the sides of the pattern terminate short of the sheet margin to leave a border 28 along both sides thereof. Thus, the corners 30 of the sheet lying alongside the slit pattern lie in an uncut border area of substantial dimension. It is these corners 30 lying in transverse relation to the direction of the slits that are pulled apart to open the latthe pattern illustrated is, likewise, preferred in that when corners 30 are pulled apart to open the slits and raise the loops as shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 to which reference will soon be made, the ends 18 thereof move closer together while the sides spread apart so as to cooperate with one another in defining a transversely elongate pocket adapted to wrap easily around a spherical object and leave tails 32 (FIG. 6) at the ends thereof of sufficient length to be tied. Thus, while the slit pattern 12 starts out longer than it is wide as shown in FIG. 1, once stretched to open the slits and produce the upstanding loops, it becomes considerably wider than it is long.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, it will be seen that each slit in the pair 14 thereof is approximately the same length and they are arranged in side-by-side relation such that the ends thereof are transversely aligned. The slits in each pair neednt necessarily parallel one another nor, for that matter, must those in each row 22 line up longitudinally so long as they define and free loops 16 from the surface of the sheet. There is, of course, no reason for arranging the slits in other than side-by-side parallel relation and, in forming the slits, there is a very good reason for aligning them in rows, namely, the ease with which they can be cut.

Particular note should be taken of the construction at the ends 18 of the slit pattern wherein the middle rows of slits 22m extend all the way to the longitudinally aligned corners 26 of the sheet. This is a significant improvement in the design and construction of the latticed wrapper because, when the sides of the sheet are spread apart to open the slits to form the lattice pattern shown in FIG. 3, comers 26 will bunch-up and wrinkle badly unless relieved as shown. In other words, when corners 30 are pulled apart, they tend to assume a trough-like configuration at opposite extremities of the pocket defined by the open lattice and thus elongate to form the tails 32 that are crossed over one another and tied as indicated in FIG. 6. Corners 26, on the other hand, ifleft uncut and bordered by a marginal area as taught by the prior art, wrinkle quite noticeably and produce a bunched-up unsightly mass beneath the tied ends.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, it becomes readily apparent how, as the slits 14 open up due to the pull on the sides of the sheet, the pattern commences to foreshorten longitudinally; whereupn, as the extremities of the several loops come closer together, the loops themselves fold and pop out of the plane of the sheet. Actually, some of the loops rise up out of the plane of the sheet while others tend to drop beneath the undersurface thereof when the sides are pulled apart, however, once the article to be wrapped is dropped into the pocket formed thereby and the corners brought together in overlapping relation, by far the majority of the loops project onto the outside of the resulting package. Even the inwardly projecting loops contribute materially to the overall crisp feel of the package as they tend to act as.springable spacers holding the body of the sheet away from the surface of the article.

The alternate staggered arrangement of the loops also enhances the appearance of the wrapper by per mitting a wider-open lattice than that which could be achieved if the loops were aligned transversely. The latter construction would, of course, result in uninterrupted strips of polyethylene sheeting running transversely of the pattern at longitudinally spaced intervals and the stretch, therefore, would be limited to that which could take place between such strips without tearing.

Finally, with brief reference to FIG. 6, it will be seen that the loops l6 pop-up out of the surface of the wrapper when the latter is used to envelop a more or less spherically shaped article. The longitudinally aligned corners 26 overlap nicely with no appreciable bunching due to the continuation of the middle rows of slits 22m all the way to the edge of the sheet. The corners 30 lying normal to the run of the slit pattern, on the other hand, elongate to define the tails 32 that are easily crossed over one another and tied as shown. An actual knot in the tied ends is seldom necessary but may be used. The resulting package is decorative, has the crisp feel of fresh head lettuce, reflects highlights much the same way as drops of water on the article itself, and displays such article inside both through the clear transparent sheet and within the interstices defined by the open lattice.

What is claimed is:

l. The latticed wrapper which comprises: a sheet of thin pliable plastic material having the central area thereof cut to define a plurality of longitudinally extending rows of slits bordered on both sides by marginal areas, the slits of each row cooperating with the slits in an adjacent row on one side thereof to define integral loops of essentially uniform width that remain connected at both ends, the rows of loops thus formed being arranged in alternate staggered relation to one another and the rows of slits in the center of the slit pattern extending all the way to the margin of the sheet at at least one end thereof.

2. The latticed wrapper as set forth in claim 1 in which: the slits in each row thereof are longitudinally aligned.

3. The latticed wrapper as set forth in claim 1 in which: the slits in each loop-defining pair thereof are parallel to one another.

4. The latticed wrapper as set forth in claim 1 in which: the slits in each loop-defining pair thereof are of substantially equal length and are arranged with their ends in transverse alignment with one another.

5. The latticed wrapper as set forth in claim 1 in which: the rows of slits in the center of the slit pattern extend all the way to the opposite margins of the sheet aligned therewith.

6. The latticed wrapper as set forth in claim 1 in which: the sheet is approximately square and the rows of slits extend diagonally between opposite corners thereof.

7. The latticed wrapper as set forth in claim 1 in which: the sheet is approximately square and the slit pattern is essentially diamond-shaped extending diagonally thereacross.

which: the slit pattern is longer than it is wide with the slits therein closed but is wider than it is long when the side margins bordering same are spread apart to open said slits. 

1. The latticed wrapper which comprises: a sheet of thin pliable plastic material having the central area thereof cut to define a plurality of longitudinally extending rows of slits bordered on both sides by marginal areas, the slits of each row cooperating with the slits in an adjacent row on one side thereof to define integral loops of essentially uniform width that remain connected at both ends, the rows of loops thus formed being arranged in alternate staggered relation to one another and the rows of slits in the center of the slit pattern extending all the way to the margin of the sheet at at least one end thereof.
 2. The latticed wrapper as set forth in claim 1 in which: the slits in each row thereof are longitudinally aligned.
 3. The latticed wrapper as set forth in claim 1 in which: the slits in each loop-defining pair thereof are parallel to one another.
 4. The latticed wrapper as set forth in claim 1 in which: the slits in each loop-defining pair thereof are of substantially equal length and are arranged with their ends in transverse alignment with one another.
 5. The latticed wrapper as set forth in claim 1 in which: the rows of slits in the center of the slit pattern extend all the way to the opposite margins of the sheet aligned therewith.
 6. The latticed wrapper as set forth in claim 1 in which: the sheet is approximately square and the rows of slits extend diagonally between opposite corners thereof.
 7. The latticed wrapper as set forth in claim 1 in which: the sheet is approximately square and the slit pattern is essentially diamond-shaped extending diagonally thereacross.
 8. The latticed wrapper as set forth in claim 7 in which: the slit pattern is longer than it is wide and extends all the way to the opposite corners of the sheet in longitudinal alignment therewith.
 9. The latticed wrapper as set forth in claim 7 in which: the slit pattern is longer than it is wide with the slits therein closed but is wider than it is long when the side margins bordering same are spread apart to open said slits. 